The EC145 has been a great success for Eurocopter. The type, a development of the MBB/Kawasaki BK117, first flew in June 1999 and entered service in April 2002 with France's Securite Civile and the Landespolizei in the German state of Hesse. Since then this twin-engine light utility helicopter has been sold to numerous air arms - including the US Army, which operates it as the UH-72A Lakota - government agencies, emergency services (EMS) and wealthy private individuals, logging over 542,000 flying hours. Now, a decade after bringing the EC145 to market, Eurocopter is developing an updated version - the EC145T2 - with the company believing design changes and improved performance will keep the type at the forefront of the market.
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